Coast Guard hikes river patrols

New upstate mission part of Homeland Security's increased inspections of foreign vessels

By DENNIS YUSKO Staff writer

Published 1:00 am, Thursday, September 3, 2009

ABOARD THE USCGC STURGEON BAY — At first glance, Coast Guard officers couldn't tell what was moving down the Hudson River. But as the craft inched closer, an incredible sight came into view: Five men from Vermont manning a homemade, wood raft with a blue tarp, sleeping bags and 1961 engine.

The men were on their 18th day of sailing from Stratton, Vt., to New York City Monday when the 662-ton Sturgeon Bay and its 18-man crew stopped them near Newburgh. The rickety-looking raft had traveled almost 200 miles without any official questioning.

"Huck Finn lives," Coast Guard Lt. Scott Rae said Wednesday. The joke contrasted with the seriousness of the Coast Guard's new upstate mission on the Hudson River.

Primarily used for breaking ice on the river during the winter, the cutter on Wednesday was anchored in the middle of the Hudson near the Port of Albany on a calm, late-summer day, its members conducting random stops of boats heading south.

The stops are part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's "small vessel security strategy" being enforced by the Coast Guard. It aims to increase inspections of foreign motor boats and other small vessels that travel from Canada through the Troy locks to New York City harbor.

Traditional maritime security focused on large commercial vessels and their crews, but homeland security officials believe each year hundreds of small, foreign-flagged boats enter the New York Port from upstate unchecked and undetected, and could be used to smuggle terrorists or a weapon of mass destruction. In 2000, a small craft was used in a suicide attack to kill 17 Americans stationed aboard the USS Cole in the Yemeni port of Aden.

"It's a group of vessels we want to target," Rae said, adding that patrols around the Capital Region will increase.

More than 16 percent of vessels passing through Troy lack documentation like registration, and about 15 percent are not the registered vessels they claim to be, according to Coast Guard intelligence. Foreign-based boats travel the most in New York on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Rae said, though he did not explain why.

On Wednesday, Coast Guard members had stopped a couple from Indiana in a motor boat and a four-person party in a yacht before noon. "Stop your vessel and come this way," Rae said through a loud speaker. "In a couple of minutes, we're going to board your vessel."

A five-person crew motored to the boats in an 18-foot rubber craft. Two boarding officers armed with .40-caliber pistols and wearing bullet-proof vests entered the boats. No violations were found.

Coast Guard officers do not require probable cause to stop and enter a vessel. Their jurisdiction ends at the riverbank, but officers can pursue suspects on land if they commit a crime on federal waters.

If boaters are found without proper paperwork or equipment, officers generally issue them a warning.

Additional infractions can result in fines of hundreds to thousands of dollars.

The Vermont five were permitted to continue their unique one-way journey to New York City after uniformed Coast Guard officers inspected the raft, confirmed where the men were from, where they were going and that they had all the necessary life jackets, paperwork and flares.

"They asked us for some fruit," Rae said. "We gave them some apples and bananas."

Dennis Yusko can be reached at 454-5353 or by e-mail at dyusko@timesunion.com.